Photo by Tom Burke, used under a Creative Commons license. 

The most important innovation coming along in electricity may not be a cutting-edge technology or a first-in-the-nation government policy. Rather, it might be a subtle, yet transformative, change in the way utilities meet their resource needs. Instead of prescribing specific technologies to meet future demand – typically, power plants of a particular type – and buying it or building it themselves, utilities are increasingly defining their needs and allowing all technologies and services that can meet those needs to slug it out. It’s an approach that can save money for customers, relieve regulators of unnecessary risk, and open up opportunities for advanced energy companies of all kinds.

In August, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) released a report on Ohio’s electricity future, the product of an initiative coined PowerForward. The PowerForward report is a milestone in the state’s effort to revolutionize Ohio’s electrical grid, improve reliability and resilience, and incorporate new, innovative technologies to enhance the customer experience. AEE and our member companies have been involved all along the way. The process is far from finished, but the PowerForward roadmap points in the right direction – toward a modernized electric power grid, with utilities regulated in ways that take advantage of advanced energy technologies and services.  

Image provided by EnergyEfficiencyDay.org

This year’s Energy Efficiency Day (#EEDay2018) was designed to spotlight the impact of efficiency technologies and inspire companies, as well as the average person, to take action. That’s why AEE is supporting the national social media campaign on Oct. 5 and encouraging our members and partners to join us.

Image by Stormotion.io, used under a Creative Commons license. 

This is the sixth in an occasional series from AEE published in Utility Dive that addresses how the power sector can successfully transition to a 21st Century Electricity System.

Throughout the economy, businesses rely heavily on services to fulfill their needs. In the utility sector, however, the use of services has taken hold more slowly, especially when those services reduce the need for capital investment in their systems. At the heart of the matter is the way utilities recover costs and generate earnings. At stake is faster adoption of modern technology, better service, a more efficient system, and lower costs for customers.

As the nation’s top per capita manufacturing state – the No. 1 steel producer and No. 3 for cars – Indiana is an energy-intensive state, so saving energy means saving money here as much as anywhere. But cost is driven especially by turning on those last, most expensive power plants – or building new ones – to meet demand at its peak. Meeting peak demand is expensive; not only are wholesale electricity prices higher during those times, but about 10% of our state’s electric power infrastructure investments focus on serving load during just 1% of the hours of the year. If Indiana can shave or eliminate these expensive peaks it could reduce costs and improve reliability, because times of peak demand are also typically when the grid is most stressed. Our new report shows three ways that Indiana can reduce peak demand.